1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to temporary barriers such as the type of barrier used for protection against rising flood water which can be rapidly constructed by unskilled labor with little or no training, specifically to a method and multi-purpose temporary wall system easily constructed from a plurality of water bag assemblies that are filled with water or any other non-flammable fluid readily available at a targeted wall construction site. The fluid must have a positive pressure flow or be suitable for pumping into the waterproof bag units as they are stacked along with their protective panels to form watertight walls of varying height. Each water bag assembly has a two-part rigid outer frame that is separable into a top panel with downwardly extending pivotally-attached connection rods and a bottom panel with upwardly extending pivotally-attached connection tubes, as well as a rugged, flexible waterproof bag unit that becomes secured tightly between the two panels during use when opposed connection rods and tubes are joined together and fixed in position relative to one another with locking pins or other quickly applied fasteners. It is contemplated for the reusable panels and waterproof bag units to each be collapsible into a compact configuration for transport and storage. It is also contemplated for the panels and bag units to be made from a variety of materials, including bulletproof materials and recycled materials, such as recycled plastic. Applications of the present invention can include, but are not limited to, use in the construction of barriers and walls for the protection of property against rising flood waters, temporary shelters, military bunkers, traffic diversion in road construction zones, prevention of soil erosion, restriction of public access to temporarily hazardous areas, and the containment of hazardous spill materials, as well as the temporary stockpiling of surplus fluids such as use in areas subject to severe storms or other predictable natural disasters, including hurricanes and typhoons, where the water bag assemblies can be filled beforehand with potable water and stacked in tiers for central distribution should drinking water supplies become disrupted, after which the empty water bag assemblies can be re-filled with non-potable water or other readily available fluid and used for the construction of walls for temporary shelters, as well as the construction of protective barriers to prevent public access to areas made temporarily hazardous by the natural disaster.
2. Description of Prior Art
Quickly constructed temporary barriers and walls are needed for many purposes. They can be used to divert or block water accumulation experienced during exceptionally heavy rain storms, when rivers overflow their banks, and during storm surges resulting from hurricanes and typhoons. Quickly constructed emergency shelters can also be needed after a damaging storm to protect people, equipment, and supplies. In addition, temporary barriers are also needed in response to hazardous material spills, such as fuel oil spills that threaten a coastline and its wildlife, as well as to divert people and vehicles away from temporarily hazardous areas. Such barriers need to be sturdily constructed, waterproof, able to withstand exposure to sunlight for extended periods of time without deterioration, easily constructed by unskilled labor, and constructed with a minimum number of tools.
When threatened by flood water, homeowners and municipalities are known to rely on sand bags to divert or block water flow. The material cost for the bags and sand, or other material needed to fill them, is relatively low. Also, sand bags can be used to construct a sturdy barrier or wall with little instruction and few tools. However, the manpower requirement for sand bag use is high. Filling sand bags and transporting each to the location where it will be used is a labor intensive task involving endurance and strength. Also, the low cost sand bags commonly used are not waterproof and require a fill material that will not dissolve when exposed to water. Further, non-dissolvable fill materials must have a sufficiently large particle size so that they will not easily wash through the sand bag fabric during use. Soil at a barrier or wall construction site having a high silt or clay content would be unsuitable as a fill material. Therefore, the cost and timing of importing sand to a barrier or wall construction site needs to be considered. The availability of sand, or other suitable sand bag fill material, at the time of need is also an issue. Municipalities may store some sand in anticipation of a predicted need, however homeowners rarely do, and the amount of sand stored in advance may not be adequate to satisfy all needs. Therefore, the use of sand bags as a defense against flood water is often limited by many factors, including the unavailability of an adequate number of bags, an adequate amount of sand or other appropriate fill material, and/or sufficient manpower to fill and transport all of the sand bags to a barrier or wall construction site. A further disadvantage to sand bag use is that the disposal of sand bags requires a labor intensive effort roughly equivalent to filling them. In addition, since it is a labor intensive task, building a sand bag wall or barrier may not be practical if little advance warning is available before flood waters arrive. Although sand bags are often discarded after use, if stored for reuse they would first need to be emptied and allowed to dry. Cleaning prior to storage would be necessary where sand bags had been exposed to odor-producing sediments. Also, finding a place to dispose of surplus sand or other fill material may present a challenge, since fill material disposal at the flood site may be inappropriate and disposal elsewhere is likely to involve a significant amount of labor and transportation expense.
In contrast, the present invention overcomes nearly all of the disadvantages inherent in sand bag use. For example, since the water bag assemblies of the present invention can use water or any non-flammable fluid which can be pumped through its hose connections, fill material is usually readily available at a barrier or wall construction site. Also, use of the water bag assemblies is less physically demanding than sand bag use since the water bag assemblies are filled with fluid after being placed into their usable positions. Further, the waterproof bag units of the present invention have less impact on the environment during disassembly and disposal, since they are more easily cleaned for reuse, preferably filled with water, and can be made at least in part from recyclable materials. When ready for use, each water bag assembly of the present invention has a substantially rectangular rigid outer frame and a rugged flexible waterproof bag unit positioned therein. The outer frame is readily separable into two parts, each of which can be flattened for efficient transport or storage. The waterproof bag unit can also be separated from the outer frame and collapsed between uses for compact storage. To make each outer frame lighter in weight for easier handling and allow watertight contact laterally between adjacent waterproof bag units within each row in a barrier or wall, vertically extending rods and tubes connect a top panel and a bottom panel to one another. The connection tubes and rods also are each inserted into sleeves attached to the outside surface of the waterproof bag unit to secure it in an optimum usable position. Watertight barriers and walls are made from the present invention by placing water bag assemblies in contact with one another in both rows and tiers. Watertight connection within a tier is provided by each waterproof bag unit in its optimum usable position extending slightly beyond the vertically oriented connection tubes, while watertight connection between tiers is provided by the top and bottom panels being made from a gripping, shear-resistant material, such as plastic or rubber.
In the most preferred method of using the present invention for barrier or wall construction, the bottom panels for a first row of water bag assemblies are positioned in lateral contact with one another in front of the property or unsafe area needing protection. Bottom panel orientation within the rows and tiers is not critical as long as it is uniform so as to provide a watertight configuration. One empty, collapsed or partially collapsed, waterproof bag unit with a vertically extending sleeve at least on each corner interface between its side surfaces is then secured to each bottom panel through insertion of connection tubes pivotally attached to the bottom panel through the vertically extending sleeves. To minimize handling during assembly, the waterproof bag units would have a symmetrical configuration with two hose connections each on its top and bottom surfaces, as well as two hose connections on each of its side surfaces. The introduction of fluid fill material from a positive pressure source, or through use of a pump, would cause the waterproof bag units to become expanded into their usable substantially rectangular configurations. Fill material for the waterproof bag units of the present invention can comprise any non-flammable fluid readily available at a barrier or wall construction site, to include but not be limited to water from diverse sources such as municipal water supplies, lakes, rivers, creeks, and ponds, as well as salt water, and flood water. During fluid introduction, one of the two hose connection openings on the top surface of each waterproof bag unit would be used as a fill opening and the other top surface hose connection opening would be used as an air vent. After filling, hose connections would be capped. A top panel would then be placed centrally over the waterproof bag unit and lowered to allow connection rods pivotally connected to the top panel to each become inserted into an opposed vertically extending connection tube, previously positioned within one of the waterproof bag unit sleeves. Central cutouts in the waterproof bag unit sleeves expose several spaced-apart holes in the distal ends of the rigid connection tubes and rods to which a quickly applied fastener can be attached to fix one in a stationary position relative to the other. The spaced-apart holes in the connection rods and tubes allow top panel adjustment so that top and bottom panels are held in watertight contact with the waterproof bag unit sandwiched therebetween. In the alternative and preferred for some applications, the water bag assemblies of the present invention can be constructed prior to placement in rows and tiers. Since the top panel would then block the two hose connections in the top surface of the water bag units, each waterproof bag unit would be filled through one of its side hose connections. However, to achieve a watertight seal between each waterproof bag unit and its connected top and bottom panels, release and reattachment of the quickly applied fasteners used to secure the connection rods and tubes to one another may be required after filling to allow the top panel to be repositioned relative to its associated waterproof bag unit. When side hose connections are used to fill the waterproof bag units, an upper hose connection on any of its side surfaces may be used as an air vent. As a matter of convenience, alternative filling methods could be used in the construction of a single barrier or wall from the present invention, with the method of filling waterproof bag units prior to top panel assembly being used in lower tiers and the method of top panel assembly prior to filling being used in harder to access upper tiers. Thus, flood containing barriers made from the present invention could be readily placed in strategic locations around homes, businesses, or other threatened structures to help keep flood waters at a safe distance to prevent interior damage. When flood waters are flowing with force in the direction of a structure needing protection, two or more adjacent barriers made of water bag assemblies may be required between the flood water and the structure to divert the flood water around it.
Other advantages of the waterproof bag units of the present invention over the use of sand bags include the practicality of a single person of ordinary strength and endurance being able to assemble and position them to form a barrier or wall. Filling the waterproof bag units of the present invention can also be accomplished through use of a garden hose connected to a municipal water source or a water pump drawing water from a nearby pond, swimming pool, lake, creek, or river, the ocean, or the flood water itself. Openings on all sides of each waterproof bag unit make its top and bottom interchangeable and enhance the speed of barrier assembly. Further, should cost effective storage space be unavailable, or the need for temporary barriers made from the present invention not foreseen as a recurring one, if the waterproof bag units and outer frames are made from recyclable materials as intended in the most preferred embodiment, the present invention can be easily disposed of through commonly available recycling facilities instead of being added to a landfill. If flood water is used to fill the collapsible waterproof bag units and rinsing is needed prior to storage, this can be easily accomplished. Drainage and drying of the collapsible waterproof bag units after use would be facilitated by their many hose connection openings. The waterproof bag units can be made from many different materials, as long as they remain flexible and sufficiently rugged to be puncture-resistant during assembly and use. If the waterproof bag units and outer frames are made from bulletproof materials, they could also be used to construct temporary shelters or bunkers for military personnel. For road construction use, at a minimum the waterproof bag units and outer frames would be made from both UV-resistant materials and materials having reflective properties so that they are readily visible in reduced light conditions. In contrast, it is important for waterproof bag units employed in coastal areas to be made from saltwater-resistant materials. Also, waterproof bag units used under unusually hot or cold temperature conditions should be made from materials that are temperature tolerant so that they do not become prematurely brittle.
The prior art thought to be the closest in concept to the present invention is the invention disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,692,060 to Jackson (1987), however, the present invention is distinguishable from the Jackson invention in many important ways. The Jackson invention comprises elongated water-fillable tubes each having the cross-sectional configuration of an equilateral triangle. They are placed end-to-end when used to form elongated dams or dikes. A plurality of longitudinally spaced-apart and vertically extending rigid lateral supports are attached to the sides of each elongated tube to form multiple inverted V-shaped structures. Rigid longitudinal supports are attached to Jackson tube at its apex between the lateral supports. A single hole through the upper end of each lateral support allows connection of opposed lateral supports to one another to form the shape of a "V", and also connection of lateral and longitudinal supports. It is also contemplated for the Jackson invention to have a means for connecting the lower ends of adjacent lateral supports. Each Jackson tube has a water inlet centrally located near the apex on one of its sides and a water outlet on one of its ends centrally near the bottom of the tube. A two-tiered Jackson barrier would have a bottom tier made from three tubes, with the center tube being placed in an inverted position between the lateral supports of two adjacent upright tubes. A fourth tube alone would comprise the upper tier and would be placed in an upright position upon the flat top surface of the inverted center tube. Thus the two-tiered triangular barrier would have twice the height of a single-tier Jackson barrier. It is contemplated for the lower ends of the lateral supports for the fourth tube in the second tier to be connected to the upper ends of the lateral supports for the upright tubes in the bottom tier.
The present invention is similar to the Jackson invention by providing a flexible water-fillable container secured to a rigid outer frame. Also, both inventions are stackable and have sealable openings for adding and draining fluids therefrom. However, that is where the similarities end. In contrast to the Jackson invention, the present invention has smaller fillable waterproof bag units and a simpler frame construction for enhanced ease of handling by unskilled people. For most purposes the water bag assemblies of the present invention would not have to be interconnected as do adjacent lateral supports of the Jackson invention. As a result, damaged sections of a barrier made from the present invention would be more easily replaced than in a dike made from the Jackson invention. Also, the multiple openings on each of its sides allow the waterproof bag units of the present invention to be more quickly and easily drained than the Jackson tubes which only have lower drain holes on its ends. Thus either a pump would be required to drain each Jackson tube from the side hole near the apex, or a first Jackson tube in a dike would have to be drained through the hole positioned near the bottom edge of its end panel, and then moved away from the end panel of the adjacent tube before access could be gained to the end drain hole of the next adjacent tube to empty and disassemble it.
The present invention is further distinguished from the Jackson invention in that it can be used in more diverse applications. The smaller size and less cumbersome handling of the water bag assemblies of the present invention would allow for more convenient construction of barriers and walls having different height dimensions than could be made from the Jackson invention. Also, barriers made from the present invention for road construction use could be more quickly relocated to a new area of construction than a barrier made with the Jackson invention. Further, the footprint of a barrier or wall made from the present invention is much smaller than that of the Jackson invention, particularly for multiple-tier barriers or dikes, which could be an advantage in many applications, including the efficient storage of surplus fluids. The pivoting connection rods and tubes attached to the flat top and bottom panels, respectively, as well as the quickly attached and released fasteners used to secure the connection rods and tubes to one another, also help to distinguish the present invention from the Jackson invention. In addition, the smaller size of the waterproof bag units of the present invention would make them more cost effective to manufacture than the larger Jackson tubes, and result in the present invention being more affordable for homeowner use. Fluid-fillable barrier systems other than the Jackson invention are also known, however none have a configuration similar to the present invention nor all of its advantages.